Collins, Michael G.

I had originally intended for this follow-up to my original post to be a step-by-step walk-through of how I deftly removed the cracked screen from my iPhone and installed the new one so expertly that no one would be able to tell the difference.  Sadly, as is too often the case, Reality did not see things my way.  In the end the iPhone was worse off than when I started, mostly due to the difficulties in removing the cracked glass from the LCD screen.  I was able to finally repair my iPhone by replacing the entire touchscreen/LCD assembly, which will be described in yet another post.

At first everything seemed simple enough.  I gathered all the necessary implements and started by removing the SIM card and taking out the two screws at the bottom of the iPhone’s case.  After that you just pry the screen out from the case.

The small plastic prying tool (far right) that they sell at the site where I ordered the replacement screen is like a mini-crowbar for the iPhone.  It actually works quite well for separating the screen assembly from the case - once you figure out which gap you should be prying open.  It’s not the one between the plastic on the back of the case and the silver plastic bezel.  It’s also not the one between the touch screen glass and the thin rubber strip that surrounds it.  I mention these because you can easily fit the ends of the pry tool into these gaps and start pulling things apart, but it probably isn’t what you want.  The touch screen and the LCD come out as one assembled piece, so you need to fit the pry tool into the gap between the silver bezel and the rubber that surrounds the touch screen, until you can pop the whole screen assembly out and fold your iPhone apart like an open-faced sandwich.

It is possible to order replacement screens that include both the touch screen and LCD pre-assembled.  This would be the easiest and safest way to repair a broken screen, in my opinion.  But if you are trying to be cheap, like I was, you can get just a touch screen or LCD.  The LCD screen is screwed into a plastic frame which also holds the speaker and home button.  The touch screen is glued onto this plastic assembly at both ends with some double-sided industrial-strength sticky goo.  Removing a completely intact touch screen from the assembly without damaging the LCD would be tricky.  Removing a screen that has already been shattered into many pieces is extremely difficult.

 

I ended up with a pile of touch screen shards and a mostly useless LCD.  Be forewarned, the images below depict graphic iPhone violence which some may find quite shocking or disturbing.

 

 

 

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